Dodgers: On This Day in 2017 Cody Bellinger Crushed His First Homerun

Three years ago today, Cody Bellinger hit the first of many homeruns.

The Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger made his big league debut on April 25th, 2017 against the Giants. He picked up one little infield hit in three at-bats, and his career was officially underway. Four nights later, Bellinger would go deep against the Phillies for his very first big league blast, exactly three years ago today.

On an 0-2 hanging slider from Zach Eflin, Bellinger launched the second of the Dodgers’ many homeruns that evening. Bellinger would follow up that majestic blast with another solo shot in the 9th that would help the Dodgers rally back and take the win.

Bellinger would go on to crush 109 more homeruns after that night, including a total of 39 in his rookie season. Not bad for a guy that was called up to replace an injured Adrian Gonzalez. Bellinger’s ridiculous homerun pace combined with stellar defense won him the Rookie of the Year award in 2017 for the Dodgers.

What else has he done since that day? Not much, just won an MVP Award, a Gold Glove Award, a Siler Slugger Award, an NLCS MVP, and two All-Star Game nods. The Dodgers really hit it big when they drafted Bellinger in the fourth round of the draft in 2013. Congrats to the reigning MVP, and happy anniversary!

Brook is the Senior Editor of Dodgers Nation, with several years of experience in sports journalism. He is an avid Dodgers and Lakers fan, and can be spotted fairly often at Dodger Stadium and Staples Center.